


happy together

by askmeaboutmyoctopustheory



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-24 12:16:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18165080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory/pseuds/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory
Summary: AU where the Umbrella Academy students had a normal upbringing with families in their respective countries until their 15th birthday





	1. Chapter 1

43 women around the world. 43 unusual children of extraordinary ability. 7 mothers who made a compromise with a wealthy inventor. These 7 children would be raised in their mother’s household until the child was 15. They would take the wealthy man’s last name, Hargreeves. On their 15th birthday, the children would all converge at Hargreeves’ home to begin training as a team.

 

**October 1st, 2004**

 

Luther stood looking up at the imposing building in front of him. Iron wrought gates adorned with umbrellas and intricate stonework were not things he was accustomed to seeing in his small hometown in Texas. His extreme strength had made him an asset on the farms and rodeo circuit. 

 

“Que pasa hermano?” A voice from behind Luther startled him, as he turned to see a small but well built man. The other man had many scars on his tanned face and a sharp eye. He was twirling a knife idly, which Luther eyed warily.

 

“Uh….Hola?” Luther flailed to remember his middle school Spanish education. The other man opened his mouth to say something else but Luther’s attention had been averted to the cab that had just pulled up. A statuesque woman with natural hair and caramel complexion was emerging from the backseat as the cabbie struggled with several large suitcases.

 

“Bonjour mes amis.” The woman said, smiling as Luther practically tripped over himself to help with the suitcases. “Merci” 

 

The newcomer started talking in rapid french, leaving Luther to look helplessly at the other man, who just shook his head. The other man said some words to the woman in Spanish, and then the two began having a discussion. Before Luther could think of something to contribute to the conversation, a tall lanky man walked up, outlandishly dressed in a crop top and leather leggings. He wore enormous rhinestone sunglasses and had an opera length cigarette holder.

 

“Hello friends.” The man had a heavy Norse accent. “The name is Klaus”

 

“I’m Luther.” The large man exhaled in relief. “Thank goodness you speak English. I haven’t even been able to get these two’s names”   
  
After a brief exchange in foreign language, Klaus laughed and turned back to Luther. “Diego and Allison. Allison says thank you for helping her with her bags.”

 

“Oh. You’re welcome” Luther smiled at the woman who returned the smile. 

 

She then turned to Klaus and the two started talking rapidly in French. They were both touching their clothes and exclaiming, apparently having a common interest in fashion. The whole group jumped about a foot off the ground when out of thin air, a tall man with quiffed black hair appeared in their midst. Diego had somehow pulled another knife from somewhere on his person and had it brandished.

 

“G’day” He said, raising a quizzical eyebrow to all of them. “Call me Five, alright? Yes its a nickname. Don’t ask where it’s from.”

 

“Jesucristo me asustaste” Diego muttered, sticking out a hand as a peace offering. 

 

“Uh hey. Where you from dude?” Luther asked awkwardly, trying to make conversation with the apparently few English speakers.

 

Five just answered him with giving him a once over, scoffing and ignoring the question. Another taxi arrived, with a dark haired man emerging. He had large over-the ear headphones and looked around at the group with his hooded eyes. He took his headphones off and spoke in a tongue that none of them could place. The other 5 looked between each other shiftily, not knowing how to communicate. Their awkward silence was broken by a young woman riding up to their group on a bicycle. She dressed plainly and had a violin strapped on her back. She nodded shyly and there was once again a silence that fell over the crowd.

 

“Children!” All of them startled to look at a tall older man with a monocle who had thrown open the iron gates. “Welcome, to the Umbrella Academy.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OK from here on out assume any italicized conversations are being held in another language!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> also sorry if this got a little Fiveya-y, it just happened sorry bout it

 

Diego had settled in to the big musty house, put his belongings away and started exploring. He found the kitchen and the woman who was going to be their governess/mother figure. Reginald had told them that she knew all their native languages and would help them all adjust to their new lifestyle.

 

_ “H-Hello?” _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “Oh hello, Diego right?” The woman had a bright smile and warm but almost glazed eyes. 

 

_ “Yes. Do you need help with dinner?” He was already washing his hands, ready to help in the kitchen like he would with his mama and tias. _

 

_ “That would be lovely.” _

 

Diego put himself to work chopping and boiling, falling into a routine he was familiar with. He was the only one of his new ‘siblings’ that had bothered to offer to help with dinner. The others ambled in once they smelled the cooking beef and spiced rice. The big one, the American was first. Diego knew he was going to have fun taunting the large man, Luther, he was called. He had already started his fun, pretending he didn’t know English despite growing up near the border. Next was the thin, flamboyant young man who seemed to be always muttering under his breath. Diego caught his eye and was given a wink, to which he blushed and went back to cooking the tortillas. The two girls came in next, talking slowly in what seemed to be German. As they were all about to sit down to eat, the final member, the Australian, appeared out of thin air next to Luther. 

 

Grace, their governess, went from plate to plate serving dinner. She spoke to each of them in their native language, perfectly accented and unflawed. Klaus, the Nordic boy, sat next to Diego and talked to him in accented Spanish. He learned that Klaus could commune with the dead, often times carrying on conversations with them as if there was nobody else around. He told Klaus about how he learned to throw knives, and his ability to hold his breath apparently indefinitely. He also let Klaus in on his little prank he was playing on Luther.

 

“Oh that’s brilliant. I wish I hadn’t already let him know I spoke English!”

 

At the end of the table, the girls were speaking in fragmented German, and it seemed they were struggling to find any similarities between them. Allison, the Franc, was impeccably made up despite an undoubtedly long flight. Her clothes bore designer labels and her smile was sly and Diego didn’t want to get on her bad side. The Russian girl Vanya wore drab colors of what seemed to be mens clothing. Her hair was plainly parted down the middle and she had dark circles under her eyes, no doubt from the multi-trans-continental flight. 

 

When the dinner was done, the newly minted Umbrella Academy went to their respective rooms and settled in, ready to start on their new routine.

 

\------

 

And a routine they did have, from the very beginning Sir Hargreeves made sure his newly adopted children began learning each other’s native language. 

 

“Communication is paramount!” The monocle shook as he wobbled his finger at Five’s korean characters.

 

They woke up at 6:30 promptly to begin their physical fitness training. Usually beginning with a mile run, practicing fighting with all of the others, and finishing with a test of endurance. They would finish training and go hurriedly eat a bland breakfast of oatmeal, which Grace would lovingly arrange fruit into a smiley face on. The rest of their morning would be targeted training to hone each of their unique powers. Vanya and Ben seemed to be the least predictable, none of them having even seen the full extent of their powers. Ben, the quiet and studious Korean boy, seemed to be afflicted with Eldritch monstrosities living dormant under his skin. He clung to Klaus, who understood what it felt like to be haunted by invisible entities.

 

Vanya, it seemed could bend soundwaves at her will and make them into a destructive force. She felt most in control when she made the sounds herself from her violin. Reginald would push her abilities daily in the foyer with a tuning fork, often destroying several items in the process. She would lock herself up in her room afterwards, playing Vivaldi or Schumer. 

 

Vanya sat at the kitchen table at midnight one night, unable to sleep after the horrible session she had endured with Reginald. She hated hurting anything, she didn’t want to kill anything or use her powers for any business outside of playing the violin. She sipped on her tea, still hearing the screams the mice emitted when she choked them out, Reginald breathing down her back. She was startled out of her turmoil by a soft fizzle, and saw Five appear in the kitchen. He nodded at her and smiled gently before rifling through the cabinets to find where Grace stored a secret stash of marmite for his late night cravings. 

 

“Fi...Five?” She asked slowly, still not confident in her English. The boy turned and faced her, spreading the brown jelly on bread.

 

“Yes?” 

 

“What are your trainings like?” Vanya asked slowly. They were not permitted to ask Reginald about the other student’s trainings and they were seldom given time alone outside of meals. 

 

“He drives me to the middle of nowhere and then tells me to jump somewhere else.”   
  
“Oh.” Vanya looked down at her hands.

 

“You’re powerful, Vanya. That’s why he pushes you, it’s to control you.”

 

“Проклятие!! It’s not what I want! I want to be back at my village playing my violin.” The lights above them started swaying at her outbreak.

 

“Hey. It’s ok. I don’t blame you at all. Why don’t you tell me about it?” Five sat down next to her and listened to her talk. Eventually she nodded off, her head heavy on his shoulder and he teleported them back to his room. He dropped her onto his bed and sat to go to sleep on his chair.

  
“Five?”   
  
“Hm?”   
  
“Thank you.” Vanya paused. “And you can sleep here too, I don’t mind.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short filler chapter
> 
> i uh,.... don't know where i'm going with this? i don't really have a plot or ship in mind but if anyone has any ideas feel free to comment and maybe it'll inspire me
> 
> or find me on twitter @_AMAMOT
> 
> also sorry this is not at all seasonally appropriate, but considering this story starts on their birthday....it works out

The morbid song and dance of the Umbrella Academy’s routine became second nature, and they began to gain notice. They got interviews and television features. There were screaming fangirls outside the mansion gates nearly constantly. They were unable to leave without media attention, but leaving unaccompanied was against protocol anyway.

 

The seven seemed to find their ways, though. Luther snuck out one evening, coming back with a full rack of pork ribs and flowers. He gave the flowers to Allison and put the meat in a marinade, saying he was going to cook them the way his mom used to. Klaus would sneak out and return with packets of drugs, rolling papers, or lighters. Ben was the most boring and would go to the public library more often than their allotted once weekly due to his heavy reading habit.

 

They found solace in each other. The rest of them took notice after Five and Vanya came down for breakfast at the same time one morning. The two spent quite a lot of time together in one of the two’s rooms. Luther and Allison would often spend free time in the attic, looking out the window. Klaus, Ben, and Diego wandered about the house like the three blind mice, looking for mischief but usually spending time in the kitchen with Grace.

 

When the first snow fell there was the inaugural Umbrella Academy snowball fight. Luther could hurl the packed snow with incredible speed. Diego could spin them through the air and land right on target, but was unfamiliar with how to make the perfect snowball seeing as it was his first time seeing snow. Five would jump out of the way of incoming projectiles while Vanya would freeze and reroute them midair. Ben had built himself a fort to protect from his siblings and Klaus simply did not mind the cold because of his familiarity with harsh Nordic winters.

 

At Christmas time there was a grand tree in the sitting room and Grace had prepared several traditional dishes from their various homelands. The cooked goose sat in the center of the long table, with filleted Lutefisk and Kutia on the side. Steamed prawns and tamales were wrapped in foil, while sparkling apple cider was bubbling in their ornate glasses. They had been allowed a shopping trip to get small gifts for the others, as well as something they could add to the tree. They stayed up late Christmas eve making popcorn strands and throwing the kernels at each other, a few of them leaving their shoes next to the tree before they all collapsed on the sofas in the sitting room.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter @_AMAMOT 
> 
> also disclaimer: i do not mean any of this to be seen as culturally insensitive and all my translations are from google lol please let me know if anything is incorrect!


End file.
